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Learn About Famous Inventors Who Have Changed the World

Browse List of Inductees
Browse List of Inductees
Showing 51 - 75 of 90 results

Benjamin Durfee

Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (Mark I)

IBM engineer Benjamin Durfee, along with Clair Lake and Frank Hamilton, translated Harvard physicist Howard Aiken's concept for a large scale…
Inducted in: 2014
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,616,626
Died:

H. Tracy Hall

Diamond Synthesis

The GE Research Laboratories announced on February 15, 1955 that H. Tracy Hall, along with Francis Bundy, Robert Wentorf, and Herbert Strong, had…
Inducted in: 2010
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,947,610
Died:
Military Service: U.S. Navy

Irving Langmuir

Incandescent Electric Lamp

Irving Langmuir's work led to two major inventions: the high-vacuum electron tube and the gas-filled incandescent lamp. Born in Brooklyn, New York,…
Inducted in: 1989
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 1,180,159
Died:
Stanley Mazor headshot

Stanley Mazor

Microprocessor

Stanley Mazor was instrumental in refining the architecture of the single-chip CPU. This first working microprocessor was smaller than a thumbnail…
Inducted in: 1996
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 3,821,715

Seth Boyden

Process for Making Malleable Iron

Seth Boyden invented a process for making malleable cast iron, a tough, bendable, and machinable material that was not hard or brittle like earlier…
Inducted in: 2006
Born:
Died:

Herbert M. Strong

Diamond Synthesis

Herbert Strong, along with Tracy Hall, Francis Bundy, and Robert Wentorf, synthesized diamonds as part of Project Superpressure, as announced by the…
Inducted in: 2010
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,947,610
Died:

Clair Lake

Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (Mark I)

Already a prolific inventor at IBM in May 1939, Clair Lake was chosen to be chief engineer for the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, also…
Inducted in: 2014
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,616,626
Died:

Philo Taylor Farnsworth

Television System

Philo Taylor Farnsworth's electronic inventions made possible today's TV industry, the TV shots from the moon, and satellite pictures. Born in Beaver…
Inducted in: 1984
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 1,773,980
Died:

Frederick Banting

Isolated, Purified Insulin

Millions of diabetics owe their lives to Frederick Banting's idea and research. Working with fellow Canadians Charles Best and James Collip, Banting…
Inducted in: 2004
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 1,469,994
Died:

Luis Walter Alvarez

Radio Distance and Direction Indicator

Luis Walter Alvarez invented a radio distance and direction indicator. During World War II, he designed a landing system for aircraft and a radar…
Inducted in: 1978
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,480,208
Died:

Valdemar Poulsen

Magnetic Wire Recorder

Danish engineer Valdemar Poulsen demonstrated magnetic recording in 1898. While working at the Copenhagen Telephone Company, Poulsen began…
Inducted in: 2011
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 661,619
Died:

Leopold Godowsky, Jr.

Kodachrome® Film

Leopold Godowsky, Jr. and Leopold Mannes, affectionately known by colleagues and friends as "God and Man," were professional musicians who performed…
Inducted in: 2005
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 1,997,493
Died:

Robert Fulton

Steamboat

Robert Fulton designed and operated the world's first commercially successful steamboat. Fulton's Clermont made its historic first run in August 1807…
Inducted in: 2006
Born:
Died:

Auguste-Marie Lumiere

Cinematographe

Auguste-Marie and Louis Lumiere, inventors and experts in the realm of photography, designed a camera and projector apparatus known as the…
Inducted in: 2007
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 591,858
Died:

John T. Parsons

Numerical Control

John Parsons changed the control of machines and industrial processes from an imprecise craft to an exact science, spawning a second industrial…
Inducted in: 1993
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,820,187
Died:
Emmanuelle Charpentier

Emmanuelle Charpentier

CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing

Microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier and biochemist Jennifer Doudna co-invented the gene-editing system CRISPR-Cas9, a versatile technology for…
Inducted in: 2023
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 10,266,850

Michel Mirowski

Implantable Heart Defibrillator

Michel Mirowski conceived of the automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in the 1960s after his mentor died of a heart arrhythmia.…
Inducted in: 2002
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 4,202,340
Died:
Welton I. Taylor

Welton I. Taylor

Microbiological Food Safety and Testing

Welton Taylor was a globally renowned clinical research microbiologist, educator and inventor who worked at Swift & Co., an American food…
Inducted in: 2016
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 4,010,078
Died:
Military Service: U.S. Army

Lester A. Pelton

Water Wheel
One of the fathers of hydroelectric power, Lester Pelton invented the first water wheel to take advantage of the kinetic energy of water rather than…
Inducted in: 2006
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 233,692
Died:

Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Diving Equipment

Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan together invented the modern demand regulator used in underwater diving. Their invention allowed for the equipment…
Inducted in: 2010
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,485,039
Died:
Charles Richard Drew

Charles Richard Drew

Blood Plasma Preservation

One of the world’s most impactful surgeons, educators and innovators, Charles Drew invented a safe way to store, process and transport blood plasma.…
Inducted in: 2015
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,389,355
Died:
Andrew Higgins

Andrew Higgins

LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel); Higgins Boats

Andrew Higgins, a New Orleans-based boat builder and inventor, developed and manufactured landing craft critical to the success of the U.S. military…
Inducted in: 2019
Born:
U.S. Patent Nos.: 2,144,111, 2,341,866
Died:

Joseph Saxton

Measuring Instruments

Despite having had no formal scientific training, Joseph Saxton invented important measuring devices, including a hydrometer to measure the specific…
Inducted in: 2006
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 44,460
Died:

Thomas E. Murray

Electric Fuse Box

Thomas E. Murray was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and influential figure in electric utilities at the beginning of the 20th century. He left…
Inducted in: 2011
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 913,754
Died:

Jacques E. Brandenberger

Cellophane

Invented in 1908, cellophane came from Swiss chemist Jacques Brandenberger's desire to create a clear, flexible, waterproof film that could be…
Inducted in: 2006
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 1,266,766
Died: